March 11, 2020

10 movies set in Florence to see absolutely

In these days of #iorestoacasa, 10 titles not to lose

In these days when #stayathome is definitely the best solution, we have prepared for you our super top-list dedicated to the most famous films, both Italian and foreign, where Florence is the ideal set for films really to see.

So, relax, sofa, blanket, pop-corn and good viewing!

The fabulous young man (2014)
Elio Germano plays Giacomo Leopardi, a child prodigy and then a young man with a fabulous intellect, who in his peregrinations in Italian salons also arrives in Florence. The director Mario Martone immortalizes the Lungarni, Boboli, Palazzo Pitti and, with a historical inaccuracy, the National Library.

The best youth (2003)
In his great fresco that tells 40 years of Italian history, Marco Tullio Giordana also arrives in the Tuscan capital. There are numerous scenes set in Florence, where the director takes Piazza della Signoria, the Uffizi Gallery, the Municipal Library and the Church of Santo Spirito.

Hannibal (2001)
It was in the Tuscan capital that Dr. Lecter decided to hide under a false name. In the second chapter directed by Ridley Scott we find him about to become curator of the library of Palazzo Capponi in Via de' Bardi. Scott also immortalizes Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce, the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo and the shops of Ponte Vecchio.

A tea with Mussolini (1999)
Starting from Piazza Santo Spirito, Franco Zeffirelli's film shows us the most cultural side of Florence. Memorable scenes were shot in the Uffizi Gallery, in Piazza della Signoria and also in the Gipsoteca of the Istituto d'Arte at Porta Romana.

Graduates (1995)
Leonardo Pieraccioni's debut film, The Graduates tells the story of four out-of-class students suffering without remedy from Peter Pan syndrome. In the background a wonderful Florence, from Ponte Vecchio to Ponte Santa Trinita, from the gardens of the Fortezza to Via del Parioncino, where the scene of the escape from the restaurant takes place.

Portrait of a lady (1996)
One of the most beautiful films directed by Jane Campion, who chooses a very young Nicole Kidman as the main character. Straight out of Henry James' novel, the film tells the story of the American Isabel, who, after receiving a considerable inheritance, arrives in late nineteenth-century Florence. And in the Tuscan setting, the Duomo of Florence was certainly not to be missed.

Room with a view (1986)
Based on the novel of the same name by E.M. Forster, the city plays a fundamental role here: next to the breathtaking views and the Lungarni you can even see the meadows of Fiesole. Because Florence is a city where "it is very sad that you should have a room without a view".

Amici Miei (1975)
The cult scene is that of the slaps at Santa Maria Novella Station, but there are many areas of Florence that can be seen in Monicelli's film, such as Borgo Santa Croce and Piazza Ghiberti. There are also many Florentine settings in "Amici miei atto II" and in the last chapter of the trilogy directed by Nanni Loy.

Metello (1970)
One of the best adaptations of the homonymous novel by Vasco Pratolini, transposed by Mauro Bolognini. The story of the worker Metello is articulated along the most disparate locations, including Piazzale Michelangelo and San Niccolò. In '75 Bolognini also shot the film "Per le antiche scale" in the then San Salvi asylum.

Incompreso (1966)
The heartbreaking story of the widower Duncombe, left alone with two young children, takes place in the Tuscan capital, where the man works as a diplomat. Luigi Comencini shows us some of the most suggestive corners of the city, such as Ponte Vecchio, Lungarno Torrigiani and even the interiors of Cinema Eden.

Family Chronicle (1962)
Also from Vasco Pratolini's pen comes the story of two brothers, here interpreted by Marcello Mastroianni and Jacques Perrin, who met in Florence in the 1930s following the death of their mother. Zurlini takes the city from Villa Bellosguardo, via San Leonardo, Costa San Giorgio and via delle Casine.

The girls of San Frediano (1955)
A novel, symbol of the most authentic Florentine style, Pratolini's book of the same name is transposed on the big screen by Valerio Zurlini. The story of Bob, unrepentant womanizer, and his countless conquests is set in some of the most beautiful places in the centre of Florence, such as Lungarno Vespucci, Piazza del Carmine and Porta San Frediano.

The calves (1953)
A jewel of Italian cinema with an Alberto Sordi from anthology. Not everyone knows that the maestro Federico Fellini chose the interior of the Goldoni Theatre to shoot the famous scene of the Carnival Vigil.

Paisà (1946)
In Rossellini's masterpiece Florence appears in the fourth episode. The director shows us a sadly empty piazza San Giovanni patrolled by the Germans, while the two protagonists use the Vasari Corridor as a passage in a desperate race.